Could it be that Spring is finally here for real? It’s beautiful outside.
Grabbed lunch from the little Caribbean trailer out front – jerk chicken, rice and peas and plantains with a mint iced tea – and sat over in Battery Park to eat. The tourists are out in full force and there was a loud rock band playing somewhere in the park. The breeze from the River was pleasant and my lunch was delicious. After eating, I read over my Anything Goes piece for tonight’s bout with Shappy. Ended up changing my approach and went for the whisper over the shout.
I don’t think a lot of people fully realize what I’m planning. Salomé was caught off-guard by the immediacy of it and took it a lot harder than I have. It’s kind of bittersweet for me but, at the same time, my sense of sadness is greatly overshadowed by my sense of hope, both for myself and for Monday nights. I’m hoping the newer people assert themselves and step up and take advantage of the opportunity. Unlike last time, there’s not going to be any transitional meetings attempting to smooth out differences. Quoting myself: “It takes a clean break to heal right.” In regards to the slam, I’ve got faith in Oscar, as long as he doesn’t burn himself out working on two-and-a-half series. I think there’s a few others that will find their niche in my absence as well. Of course, there will be others that will probably find themselves further removed from things. That’s the unfortunate side of things but the reality is, with me there or not, that’s going to happen.
I’m looking forward to getting out to other places again, hearing different voices and connecting to new scenes. Definitely be able to do every Acentos now, check out some of the other reads in the Bronx and catch some of the offbeat stuff at the Bowery here and there. This will be the first time since December 1997 that “host” isn’t attached to my name!
(more…)
